(Much Ado About Nothing) How does Benedick change over the course of the play?

Introduction:

Benedick begins Much Ado About Nothing as a sarcastic, uncaring individual but by the end of the play is genuine and heartfelt in the way he carries himself. 

Briefly go over points that will be covered in main paragraphs - initially very arrogant and dismissive of others - he answers to no one and believes he’s loved by all women - but goes on to confess his love for Beatrice, someone it seemed he couldn’t stand before and consequently becomes more romantic and loving.  

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Paragraph 1:

“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat: it ever changes with the next block” (Act 1 Scene 1 Line 75)

Analyse simile of likening faith to a hat that Benedick puts on when he feels is fashionable. Evocative imagery that clearly shows him to be arrogant and unprincipled, at the start of the play. 

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Paragraph 2:

“But it is certain I am lov’d of all ladies, only you (Beatrice) excepted; and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none” 

Quote acts as further evidence of Benedick being arrogant and selfish - ‘I am loved of all ladies’, ‘truly I love none’. Futher proven by the repeated use of pronoun ‘I’ and condescending tone (1993 film adaptation used as reference). 

Context relevant here: Elizabethan attitudes to women were very much like this (derogatory), making it easy to understand why Benedick is like this as well as reinforcing the fact that he is like this.

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Paragraph 3:

“Come, come, we are friends. Let’s have a dance ere we are married, that we may lighten our own hearts and our wives’ heels” (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 121)

Contrast to previous paragraph’s quote and analysis.

Repeated use of pronoun ‘we’, in place of formerly used ‘I’, signifying a newfound caring quality to Benedick’s persona. Further use of the collective - ‘let’s’ and ‘our’. More genuine tone as opposed to previously conceited one. 

It’s clear how Benedick has changed throughout the play then - from selfish lothario to kind partner to Beatrice

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Conclusion:

Summarise points made in main paragraphs - Benedick starts out rude, arrogant and sarcastic but transforms into a genuine and loving half of the whole that he and Beatrice constitute. 

Context - Benedick’s transformation even slightly mirrors the transition of the play as a whole, starting out as a (joyful) comedy and finishing somewhat more romantically than the genre it’s assigned to, comedy, might suggest. Thus, perhaps Benedick’s development could even be thought of as a microcosm of the play’s development.